This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio summed it up best for Saturday: “It’s a matter of digging deep. We’re supposed to win this game — we should have won — but we didn’t.”

The Reds dropped a 2-1 verdict to the New England Revolution, losing for the fourth time in five games and for the second consecutive time at BMO Field.

This is not supposed to be the script for the local soccer club and its $100-million makeover. But the glory after the arrival of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley and an inspiring 3-1 start has been evolved into something more akin to frustration.

Not even the return Saturday of Defoe and centre back Doneil Henry — to complete the restoration of the first fully healthy lineup in a month — lifted the Reds enough.

Henry had a tough game — a turnover and a hand ball leading to goals — but the setback was not entirely his fault. The offence, led by Defoe and Gilberto, somehow missed five tremendous scoring chances, leaving everyone involved thoroughly frustrated.

Article Continued Below

“Frustrating, yeah . . . we had some good chances and we were unlucky at some,” said Defoe, referring especially to the late second-half surge by the Reds, which saw them hit a pair of posts, including one exchange where the ball popped off the post and right into the New England ’keeper’s hands.

There was plenty of hand wringing among the 22,591 in attendance, but really, this wasn’t the gloomy defeat it seemed to be. Toronto did dominate the visitors, out-chancing them, carrying a wide percentage of the possession, and missing out on what should have been at least three goals.

They played like a team that was just getting all its weapons back in order, they were rusty.

“Our performance was very good but we gifted them a couple of goals . . . we had plenty of opportunities, though, to put this game out of sight,” TFC coach Ryan Nelsen said.

Toronto gets right back on the pitch Wednesday night when it hosts Vancouver.

Nelsen still has a tremendous side, but one that needs to prove itself all over again after starting the season 3-1; Toronto is now 3-4.

Osorio left the game in the second half and was on crutches afterward with a charley horse.

“It feels like (expletive),” said Osorio, whose status for Wednesday’s game is uncertain.

Nelsen had Osorio flanked out to the left among his midfielders, and Osorio had a tremendous first half, opening up room and getting in on some good chances.

Nelsen was questioned on why he put the returning Henry at centre back; Bradley Orr had performed so well there during Henry’s absence but was on the bench when Henry was healthy again.

“Doneil is a centre back, Bradley isn’t,” explained Nelsen, who really needs his rear foursome of Henry, Steven Caldwell, Mark Bloom and Justin Morrow to do big things this season if TFC is going to rise to the top of the league.

Nelsen wasn’t worried about Henry’s giveaway and hand ball, but Henry himself was taking full blame for the first goal.

“That’s me, my fault, I have to be better than that. I’m not going to shy away when I make a mistake and that’s my fault,” Henry said.

Henry’s hand ball came when the he wasn’t working hard on positioning and not looking at the play. Seconds before that, New England benefited from a re-tried corner kick awarded by the officials; the hand ball followed and Lee Nguyen buried the ensuring penalty kick for the game-winning goal.

“I’ve never seen anything like that, no excuses, just never seen anything like that,” Nelsen said of the call on the re-tried corner.

Ultimately, Nelsen realized his club lost “the wind in its sails” after the first, turnover goal for New England. That concerned the coach more than anything else. He believes, like the team’s fan base, that the club should be more solid and more consistent than it has shown in these last two losses on home turf.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com